Transsexual escort case goes to jury

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NEW YORK, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Jury deliberations began Wednesday in the New York assault trial of a 265-pound fireman accused of attacking his transsexual ex-lover.

The defendant Taylor Murphy, 29 and a body builder, once posed as Mr. March in a firefighter beefcake calendar, ABC News reported. He is charged with abusing Claudia Charriez, 31, an escort who was kicked off the reality show "America's Next Top Model" in 2006 when it was revealed she was born a man, the report said.

The jurors heard sometimes salacious testimony over four days, and at one point Charriez shouted "I do love you!" at the defendant from the stand, ABC said.

Charriez and Taylor dated off-and-on for several years, ABC said, and on their third date she told him she was born a man. But the firefighter said he already knew all about her from TV.

Prosecutors allege Taylor, who was ordered by a court to stay away from Charriez, called her more than 1,000 times. They allege he finally erupted at a strip club and in her hotel room, with Charriez calling him a "faggot."

He allegedly choked her so hard a contact popped out of her eye, ABC reported.